


While You Were Sleeping

by darksquall, lanapanda



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Avengers Kink, Avengerskink, Kink Meme, M/M, Porn, Prompt Fic, Smut, possible dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-12
Updated: 2012-12-12
Packaged: 2017-11-20 22:46:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/590493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darksquall/pseuds/darksquall, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanapanda/pseuds/lanapanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a prompt on the Avengers Kink meme. Bruce falls asleep in the lab and Tony gets to appreciate just how sexy Bruce can be. One thing leads to another and he ends up on the couch with Bruce as he's waking up and he can't resist a chance to get carried away with his friend. (Please note, there is no out and out consent given this fic and it could be construed as dubcon. More details can be found in the notes.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	While You Were Sleeping

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: I prefer the comics background for Bruce Banner rather than the movie background, hopefully I have managed to meld Comics Bruce with Avengers Bruce.
> 
> Disclaimer: The characters and places contained herein do not belong to me and I am making no money from this.
> 
> Thank you to Lanapanda for betaing for me.
> 
> This is for a prompt on the kinkmeme: http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/11264.html?thread=25852672
> 
> Bruce and Tony aren't together yet. For whatever reason, Bruce falls asleep somewhere and Tony happens to find him in the morning. (on the couch after a long night of SCIENCE? or he's exhausted after a Hulk battle?)
> 
> And sure, Bruce is all vulnerable and attractive when he's asleep, but Tony's attention is mostly preoccupied by the morning erection Bruce is about to wake up with. Bruce is significantly bigger and thicker than Tony expected and it's a massive turn-on.
> 
> Can lead to sleepy sex when Bruce wakes up, or maybe Tony just keeps the mental image as bulletproof wank fantasy/attraction fuel.

There had been something... enchanting about Dr. Robert Bruce Banner from the moment that Tony had met him. It was a little of everything really - that incredible mind, the way he looked supremely uncomfortable in a room full of spies, heroes and gods, and the incredibly gentle brown eyes that hid behind those glasses.

Tony Stark was not gay. Very much not gay - he had so many notches on his bedposts that if he were to actually use notches, and have wooden bedposts he would have whittled them down to matchsticks and nothing more.

However, there was something about Bruce. He was both quiet and cautious, gentle and sweet, and Tony had found himself blurting out invitations to come and see his labs - not even Rhodey had seen all of his labs and Rhodey was his best friend - when he'd known the man for less than ten minutes. But Bruce had sadly turned him down.

At least at first.

For a man with a mind like that, curiosity was going to win over eventually. It was just a question of how soon, and whether Tony would be around when it happened. Whether he'd be available to take advantage of that curiosity and steer Bruce directly into candyland.

Luckily for him, he'd been in exactly the right place to offer Bruce a lift after Thor had taken Loki back to parts unknown to human consciousness and well if they were going to be passing Stark Tower on the way to the port authority anyway, what was the harm in having a quick tour of the facilities while they were there? 

And oh Bruce had wanted to stay so very badly as they'd done the full tour, ten floors of research labs, two floors entirely dedicated to Tony's experiments and research just for those times when he was in New York on business and needed somewhere to play while he couldn't sleep. Tony had a big playground and for the first time in perhaps forever, he was willing to share. He was willing to play well with others so long as it was Bruce and so long as he just kept that shy little smile in place.

They'd both pretended not to notice the time going by until it was too late to get a bus anywhere, so Bruce had an excuse to stay, and play.

Or rather, play more.

Tony had promised he'd take Bruce the following day instead, pay for his ticket to make up for the time they'd lost, and Bruce had smiled his shy, gentle smile in return.

That had been three months ago and Bruce had stopped talking about leaving on the third day. Tony still wondered sometimes if Bruce thought about it, but he tried not to think of it in favour of the lab work, the experiments and the extensive notes in very neat, but very small handwriting. Even Bruce's written words were shy and non-confrontational and Tony found himself watching Bruce just as much as he watched the simulations or the working experiments.

It wasn't like he didn't try to convince himself that he should back off when he found himself getting too close or too caught up in Bruce Banner and his gentle eyes and soft voice. It wasn't like he didn't at least attempt to convince himself that Bruce was completely off limits and as straight as he was, and hell the guy had been through enough without Tony Stark using him to test his sexuality.

Even if Bruce did have the sweetest smile, and if he tipped his head just so and gave that little sigh of contentment after a good result or a conclusive discussion, Tony would have given him the world. Twice, if he'd managed to do it while fussing with his glasses.

Tony had never had anyone to share it with before. No one on the same level as him, no one he could bounce ideas off of and who could even sometimes out manoeuvre and out think him too. That was new, exciting and... had he mentioned exciting? Because it was definitely exciting. He'd never had to work for anything intellectually - making the suit prototype in the middle of the desert with a bunch of terrorists hanging around outside the door notwithstanding.

It took every ounce of Tony’s strength and control and a couple of times telling himself off in the mirror to keep from doing more than occasionally gently flirting with Bruce. He wasn't about to ruin it all for a short, cheap thrill, especially not when Bruce was helping him find breakthroughs and solutions on projects faster than ever before. Faster than he'd even dreamed possible.

In fact, they'd been working on producing more of that as-yet-unnamed element that powered his reactor in a more energy efficient and stable manner on and off for a couple of weeks. It was a project that was quite literally close to his heart. Pardon the pun.

They'd set up some simulations, left things running in the lab when one of the contingencies that Tony had asked JARVIS to wake him for should it occur, just happened to occur. One of the simulations had returned a positive result and Tony practically leapt out of bed to go down to the lab to check it out and get the next simulation planned and running to confirm results. Then, just as Tony reached the door, JARVIS asked politely "Should I inform Dr. Banner as well, sir?"

"Is he awake?"

"Yes, sir, I believe he was just about to retire for the night but I can inform him of the results should you wish it."

Bruce was as much a part of this project as he was, so Tony had readily agreed, doubled back towards the closet and picked out a pair of silk pyjama bottoms because running down to the lab naked but for an arc reactor and a smile would not be conducive to a good working environment. Even if it would totally be worth it to see Bruce's reaction.

Still he managed to beat Bruce to the lab, and he'd gotten the reaction chain rendered into a full holographic projection by the time a sleepy eyed Bruce had ducked into the lab. Tony could see the excitement on his face, but still he was very obviously exhausted. "JARVIS said we had some good news," he smiled his usual smile despite how tired he was, and came to stand at Tony's shoulder and watch the work for himself.

"Looks like we have a stable reaction," Tony nodded, setting one hand on the screen and sending the file across to one of the projection tables. "I think we've got a long way to go before it's totally self-contained though."

They watched the molecular change happen in fully projected 3d courtesy of JARVIS, simulated bonds breaking and atoms split into component parts, reforming into a new atomic structure - one that a previous Stark had only dreamt of synthesising. One that was quite literally keeping Tony alive.

Tony turned to look at Bruce - he was a little dishevelled but not too bad considering it was somewhere around three am and Bruce had said he was going to bed almost four hours earlier. Loose navy blue cotton pj pants with a drawstring, and a tee-shirt. Comfortable things, good to sleep in. He'd been planning on sleep even if he hadn't made it there just yet. "We need to run our next projections, I can do that if you want to crash."

Bruce blinked at him dumbly for a moment and ran a hand over his face. "Sure. Are you going back to bed afterwards?"

"I'm wide awake now, so I think I'll stay up and watch it for at least a little while," Tony shrugged and grinned. "Might as well enjoy getting to see this without having to punch holes through the walls yet."

"Well... maybe I'll crash on the couch and you can wake me if anything incredible happens that we didn't plan for."

"Go ahead. I'll try not to disturb you too much."

So Bruce crashed on the couch. Tony's laboratories were extensive and very well equipped. Ten levels of R&D were available to them at night - including the two floors that were his personal playground all the time he was in New York. He'd just chosen to share all of it with Bruce Banner, and his soft sleepy gaze. Not to mention his easy smile and the wild curls of hair that were always untamable when he'd been tossing and turning in bed.

The couch was not in the simulation lab. It was in the next room, propped away from the wall to make room for a desk and research area, somewhere that Tony had built for Bruce to hide away from assistants, wandering SHIELD agents and just generally concerned people. The kind of people that were more wearing than annoying. Somewhere that Bruce could hide away from everyone but Tony - just so that Tony could be sure he wouldn't be running off just yet. Hopefully.

The couch wasn't a new thing even if the living arrangement was. If Tony had tired himself out enough to just sleep, enough to ignore the bad dreams that still plagued him from time to time, he didn't always want to trudge the whole way to the elevator and drag himself to bed. Sometimes he just wanted to crash right there, so there were a couple of couches on his levels of R&D. Three in fact. One in each of the areas that he frequented most.

This particular couch was black leather. Expensive black leather - soft as butter and ridiculously comfortable. It was deep, and wide because even when the nightmares didn't plague him Tony had a tendency to toss and turn and the first couch he'd had in that particular spot had dumped him on the floor a couple of times when he'd accidentally rolled too far. So the previous had been tossed (granted, in the direction of a charity for such things, on Pepper's recommendation) and that was how he'd ended up with the black leather one right there.

He watched as Bruce settled himself on the couch, stretched out on his side, one arm pillowed under his head and curling up just a little. This was a new and particularly interesting form of self-torture for Tony, being able to just glance over and see Bruce right there, resting, but in the same breath it was nice to have him so close. Bruce flashed a smile at him briefly, set his glasses on the end table beside the couch and closed his eyes.

Tony dragged his attention back to the simulations, watching the program run calculation after calculation, graphs plotting in front of his eyes and miniature visual representations of key steps in the chain reaction. It was easy to... well, not forget that Bruce was in the next room, sleeping, but to put that to one side and just focus on the work. He picked out a few equations, pulled up a side program and set a second simulation running with different variables.

For a moment, he almost compared it in his head to conducting an orchestra, then he realised he hadn't had his music on all evening - he couldn't risk turning it on either without disturbing Bruce - but he hadn't missed it either. Okay so maybe the doctor was changing his working persona a little more than he'd expected. Tony pushed that thought aside too, and focused on the work at hand.

It had been maybe two or three hours of perfect silence aside from the hum of the machines around him and the constant whir of the fans in the heating ducts when something else caught his attention. He paused the simulation he was manipulating himself and looked in Bruce's direction. Surely not. He hadn't heard that right.

Bruce had not moaned in his sleep.

Tony refused to believe that Bruce had moaned in his sleep. If it had been a whimper or a cry or any kind of moan that did not sound as sexual as that one just had, he would have believed it in a heartbeat, but that moan had been downright... horny.

Then Bruce had to go and do it again.

Tony had never imagined in a million years that the gentle, soft voice of his friend and lab partner could be so husky and needy. He'd never imagined that Bruce's mouth could make those noises... even if he did have a ridiculously attractive mouth, along with those eyes, that hair, and those hands that never stopped fussing with things when he was nervous or uncomfortable or just thinking. Bruce wasn't supposed to make sounds like that because, quite frankly, that sound was better than anything Tony had ever heard out of any of the mouths of stars and beautiful women he'd slept with over the years.

Bruce rolled onto his back, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Not that Tony blamed him for that - he was hard.

Tony was on his feet edging closer to the doorway, just making sure that he was seeing things right - Bruce Banner, man of impeccable control and restraint, must have been having one hell of a good dream. He almost felt ashamed for getting closer but it was all in the name of research. Just... to be sure that it wasn't going to kick off other reactions of a greener nature, he told himself. It wasn't at all to fuel any private fantasies or quiet any private curiosities. That would be wrong.

Bruce was definitely hard and, from the way he shifted on the couch every now and then, uncomfortable. The closer Tony got, the more detail he could discern, and he found himself walking all the way up to the end of the couch before he could stop himself. There was a blanket behind it - he'd get that and cover Bruce up so at least he wouldn't be embarrassed if he were to wake up and still be... suffering. At least, that's what he told himself.

Tony hadn't had the opportunity or the inclination to view many erections from the other side before, nor had he really imagined that he ever might get this close to Bruce's, really. The light sources in the room were mostly up lighters, leaving a soft, diffused kind of light that didn't do anything to detract from the picturesque scene of Bruce curled up there. There were overhead lights too, but since Tony wasn't working in that room, he'd just left the uplighters on so that they wouldn't trip in the darkness if they had to pass through. The machines were mostly on standby, little green and red lights dotted here and there.

Not that it really mattered because he was having trouble taking his eyes off Bruce's to be honest.

He hadn't spent time imagining Bruce's... apparatus, really. Well, Tony hadn't put that much thought into it, but what little thought he had put into it had not come anywhere close to the truth. Bruce was.... Well. Bruce was hung. Given the very definite outline of his cock under the thin fabric of those pj pants, and the way the light cast shadows on the fabric, Bruce was well above average. Maybe even a little over eight inches and thick, thicker than Tony even. He had a heartbeat of jealousy, but then the curiosity took over again. Although Tony had never really spent all that much time considering what it might be like to put a hand on another man's penis, suddenly it was all he could think about. How hard that flesh would feel under his hand, how it would slide through his fingers and against his palm. What it might be like to feel Bruce come into his hand and onto his skin.

He had to get onto that couch. Even if nothing happened, he wanted to feel the heat of Bruce's cock against him and even if it had to just be that, just feel Bruce pressing against him and nothing more, he thought he could live with that. Just so long as it was right now.

Bruce grumbled and shifted again uncomfortably, making just a little more room for Tony to sit down at the side of the couch. Tony wondered briefly if there was a god out there answering his prayers after all.

He sat on the couch. Not slowly, not cautiously, part of him wanted Bruce to wake up if only because he thought that might be better for both of them. After all, it wasn't like Bruce didn't have those epic anger management issues. He shouldn't be so tempted, he should have assessed the dangers and the potential for pain and run a mile, taken a cold shower and slept it off. As it was, he found himself lying down beside Bruce.

As soon as he was settled, Bruce turned back towards him, making a soft sound that Tony just had to interpret as need. Given how Bruce huddled against him, he wasn't sure if it was the need for warmth and contact or something much more... base that Bruce wanted. He carefully wrapped an arm around Bruce, just loosely at first, but that encouraged Bruce to burrow against him even more and make more of those soft, longing little sounds, every single one of which rolled down Tony's spine and started making him hard for Bruce too.

It was the vulnerability that had drawn him in. Seeing Bruce there, alone, hard and asleep that had gotten him on his feet and away from the readouts and displays and focused on something else entirely. Tony knew how lucky he was to even be able to get this close to Bruce without causing him to wake up - there had been days when Bruce had first agreed to stay that people had visited and the wrong footstep outside his bedroom door had been enough to make him wake. Yet here Tony was, stretched out alongside Bruce with his heart thundering in his ears - he was surprised Bruce didn't wake up at that alone, it seemed so loud to him - with an arm around him and he hadn't woken up. All he'd done was get closer.

Then, still pressed against Tony's side, Bruce gave a little content sound. He sounded... it wasn't sexual, it was happy. Bruce always slept alone, Bruce had been alone for years, this was probably the first time that anyone had even held him for... it didn't bear thinking about. Tony turned his head just enough to brush his lips against Bruce's jaw. If nothing else he would be a comfort. Something warm and something that Bruce needed. Bruce needed to shave but hell, if Bruce shaved at 8am he'd need another shave by three at the latest. It was rough, the hair prickling at his lips and his skin but Tony liked that too. He liked the complete departure from all the women he'd slept with.

At that kiss, there was another content little noise. Bruce tipped his head for more, starting to wake slowly. The simple fact that he'd not woken with Tony standing over him let alone cuddling against him on the couch and actually kissing him should have been enough to stop Tony, to remind him that he was going to break the trust that Dr. Banner gave to him above anyone else, but it was as though he was completely hypnotised by Bruce. By the warmth of Bruce's body against his side, the soft little sounds of surrender and need and contentment he was making, and by the feel of Bruce's hard cock pressed that much tighter against his hip suddenly.

He wasn't entirely sure when he'd gotten so hard for Bruce, but feeling him there against his hip was enough to make Tony feel as though he was suddenly twice as hard as before. With a soft gasp,Tony tightened the arm around Bruce carefully to keep him right there.

Bruce stretched and gave a soft murmur of pleasure, rolling his hips with the slightest and slowest of movements. He settled a hand on Tony's side as his eyes finally opened, hazy and not quite himself yet. "Tony...?"

"Mm, g'morning," Tony tipped his head just enough to look Bruce in the eyes. They were still a little hazy and unfocused - of course they were unfocused, he was too close for Bruce to be able to see him properly, the one downside of the glasses. He'd take it though if it meant that Bruce would just keep fussing with them as beautifully and sweetly as he did when he'd come to a conclusion or discovered something new and exciting. He shifted cautiously, making sure he was facing Bruce fully, letting him keep that arm around him and encouraging Bruce's hand to pull him closer.

"Sorry," Bruce half sighed, closing his eyes again. "I'll get up in a sec."

"Please, don't," Tony requested softly. Bruce hadn't pulled away. Bruce hadn't punched him or yelled or jumped off of the couch like a cartoon character leaving a nuclear physicist shaped dust cloud to linger in the air as he made his escape. Nor had there been even the faintest hint of green in those beautiful eyes, or in any inch of Bruce's skin that he could see. So. He did the only thing that he could think of. He rolled his hips to give Bruce a little more of the friction and sensation that he so sorely needed. 

Bruce groaned. A sound so pornographic that Tony had to bite his lip to keep from whimpering. He could actually feel the heat of Bruce's cock fully through the thin material of both Bruce’s pants and his own and Tony swore he felt Bruce's cock actually twitch. Whatever dream he'd been having, it had obviously segued very nicely into Bruce’s waking moments. The hand that had been at Tony's side ran down his back slowly and, after a moment's hesitation, Bruce slid it over Tony's ass.

That made Tony shiver involuntarily. Contact. It was gentle and cautious but most definitely deliberate contact. Tony kept his arm around Bruce and ran the fingers of his free hand through Bruce's hair gently. His curls were always so much wilder when he woke up, always so messy and inviting - some mornings Tony had had to head for the lab a little early to ignore the urge to run his fingers through those messy locks. "Nnn, Bruce."

"Little confused here," Bruce's voice was as gentle and sweet as ever, just as cautious. "I'm not dreaming, right?"

In answer, Tony ground his cock against Bruce's hip, pulling a gasp, then a groan from Bruce. "Would you stop if you weren't?" he asked, finally brushing his lips over Bruce's.

He wasn't ready for Bruce kissing back, either.

The kiss was shy, cautious and hesitant at first, Bruce's lips slanting down across Tony's sweetly. It was a perfect first kiss, gentle and faintly needy, the kind of kiss that made Tony want to chase the recipient for more, for something deeper and much more sensual. He knew they should stop, that they should take their time to slow down and figure out what was going on but he swore he'd never been so hard in his life and the heat of Bruce's skin, Bruce's hard cock through the thin material of the pj pants was starting to make Tony feel almost mindless with need already.

The second kiss they shared, Bruce initiated. Still sweet, still incredibly gentle and tender and careful, but somehow coaxing more, urging Tony's mouth to open, edging his tongue along Tony's bottom lip to taste him gently. It was so slow that it took Tony a moment to comprehend just what was going on. His fingers tightened in the rough curls of Bruce's hair and he shivered again in spite of himself.

Then Bruce had to slip a hand between them, cupping the hard arc of Tony's cock through the material of his pants. "Fuck," Tony gasped, his eyes flickering closed at the more intense sensation. He couldn't help himself - he pressed against Bruce's hand deliberately, rolling his hips and grinding against Bruce's palm deliberately. "Oh fuck," he repeated breathlessly.

In the lab, in science, in his field, Dr. Bruce Banner could do more than keep up with Tony Stark. He could take strides ahead, every step detailed in tiny neat handwriting, letting Tony catch up. Just as often, Tony would be the one to bounce ahead, finding new avenues, new theories and applications. So it really shouldn't have surprised Tony that despite the fact that he’d started this incredible moment of intimacy, Bruce was trying to be the one to move it forwards even if it was as gently as he had.

Tony wasn't about to be left behind this time though. He forced himself to think, to gather his wits that Bruce had so easily scattered with just the touch of his hand through the thin material. He cupped Bruce's cock, listening to the groan that it elicited from his friend and lab partner. Hungry, needy, longing for more than just a touch already - the same kind of sound he'd made in his sleep minutes before.

Feeling that hardness against his hand was even better than seeing it for Tony. To know the heat and the rigidity of it against his palm and his fingers. Even if they stopped and never did this again, he'd have this moment in his mind forever. And any time he allowed himself to think back to it, he'd remember every little sight and sound and sensation, the smell of the leather couch and the gentle fragrance of Bruce's soap still clinging to his skin even now.

"Are we... really doing this?" Bruce's voice was husky and breathless, closer to the tone of that sound that had distracted Tony from his work than anything he'd ever heard from Bruce before.

"Y...Yes, Can't stop now, you've got me too hard for you... it aches," Tony whispered as he turned from the kisses to brush his lips against Bruce's earlobe. He traced the head of Bruce's cock through the thin material, teasing the sensitive spot just below it, feeling the faint dampness of precome when he rubbed his thumb against the very tip of it. "Do you want me to stop touching you, Bruce? You get much harder and I don't think these pants will hold you..." The idea of Bruce being that turned on because he was there thrilled him, sending a jolt of pleasure along his spine and pooling low in his belly. Fuck if they had an opportunity to do this again, he wanted to see that. See Bruce mindless with pleasure and so hard, just for him.

Bruce made the next step again, leading Tony. He withdrew his hand - much to Tony's disappointment for a moment - and tugged the loose pants down just far enough to wrap his fingers tightly around Tony's cock. There was no pause, no respite, Bruce's hand was suddenly on his cock and stroking him roughly. There was care in it, lust and longing and need but Bruce's touch was deliberate. That pace reflected just how close they both were already, and Tony couldn't help rocking his hips to thrust into that rough hand eagerly.

He swore no one had ever touched him like Bruce. No one had ever felt so good and so right and made him want to come from just a touch. And this time Tony knew he'd felt Bruce's cock twitch against his hand as soon as Bruce’s fingers had closed around him too - if he waited any longer, Bruce really would be popping out of those pants.

With another kiss, Tony found himself groaning into Bruce's mouth, hungry for more but sure that he couldn't take any more at that moment without completely losing his mind. He helpfully pulled Bruce's pants down just enough to run his fingertips over the full, hard length of Bruce's cock, and fuck he felt right. As though somehow this was what Tony had been waiting for, the sharp mind, the soft eyes, the gentle smile and the heavy heat of Bruce's hard cock in his hand. "Damn, you're big..." he whispered before he could help himself, teasing his fingers on the head of Bruce's cock to feel the slickness of precome that he'd had the faintest hint of moments earlier, so much more real now.

Tony wrapped his hand around Bruce's cock, stroking him just as quickly and roughly as Bruce was touching him. Bruce gave a needy, husky little sound. Almost weak, but so beautiful that Tony couldn't quite believe he'd heard it or how much he wanted to hear it again. "Fuck... You're not that small either," Bruce gasped, and kissed Tony.

If every kiss they'd shared at that point had been anything to go by, this was another Bruce entirely. Some archived sensual being that had been hidden away until Tony's hand had been on him properly. He cupped the back of Tony's head with his free hand angling his head to press a deep kiss to Tony's lips, coaxing his mouth open with the most careful little caresses and teases and sliding their tongues together.

Bruce's kisses sent a shiver of need and lust and longing down Tony's spine that made his hips buck into Bruce's hand. "Nnn, fuck," he cursed as they parted again, gasping for air. "Fuck, all yours. all yours Bruce, make me come..., let me feel you come," he begged, not sure which of those he wanted more.

He didn't have to wait long. Heartbeats later, Bruce was bucking into his hand, his fingers tight in Tony's hair and voice whispering "Tony, fuck, Tony..." as his whole body stilled for a moment. Just a moment, however, and then Bruce was stroking him again, harder, faster than before somehow.

Tony didn't think that he could get harder. He didn't think it was even humanly possible but when Bruce came, he knew he'd been wrong. The pulse of Bruce's cock against his palm and his fingers as he came, the feel of Bruce's release on his skin was almost enough to send him over the edge too, then Bruce touched him and he was crying out blindly as he came.

When he came back to himself, he found Bruce's arms wrapped around him, holding him close. They were still reasonably level, if not quite eye to eye, and Bruce didn't seem to be running away, or even letting go for the foreseeable future. "Bruce..." he started, but his voice deserted him at just that - he didn't know what he wanted to say any more. He didn't know if there was even anything to say. But he kept his fingers tangled in Bruce's hair and settled his free hand at Bruce's hip, just incredibly thankful that Bruce wasn't pushing him away. In fact, if anything, Bruce was actually pulling him closer as he realised that Tony wasn't running either.

"I'm still tired," Bruce smiled, half sleepy, half sheepish. "If you want to stay here."

There was honestly nothing in the world that Tony thought he could want more at that moment. The orgasm had sapped his energy, leaving him boneless and exhausted, and all he wanted to do was stay in the warm circle of Bruce's arms. "I do. Maybe... Maybe we can revisit this when we wake up?" he suggested, kissing Bruce softly. His heart suddenly fluttered in his chest, the very idea of Bruce saying no or turning him away chilling his blood.

He needn't have worried, Bruce returned the kiss tenderly and nodded. "We can talk it over then."

"Mm... then it's a date," Tony grinned briefly, then tucked his face against Bruce's throat and took a deep breath. Now the fear had passed, now the self-doubt had been banished by Bruce's sweet kisses, and Tony was totally relaxed again to the point that he was sure that he could sleep for at least a few hours. "Sweet dreams, Bruce."

"You too, Tony," Bruce whispered, arms tightening around him.

Tony wasn't sure if he'd ever felt safer, but he doubted it.


End file.
